Weekly Weird News for 25 March 2022
A mysterious pillar of light in a scary world
Thanks for joining me on another escape from the typical news stream. The off-ramp this week includes several stories about my favorite topics - animals and anomalies. But we also have some mysteries that people insist on keeping “unsolved” even when evidence points to a more reasonable answer. Oddly, we spend a good bit of time in Pennsylvania in this newsletter.
Houston light pillar
Houston Texas social media lit up on Wednesday night as many residents reported a “light pillar” in the sky. The vertical feature in the clouds was orange and was visible from late afternoon until after dark. Natural light pillars are uncommon in Texas because they are a result of ice crystals refracting light from a surface source - typically street lights. By the next day, the source of the light was determined - ExxonMobil’s Beaumont refinery was creating flares that burned off excess hydrocarbons. They had previously notified locals that this was happening so they would not be alarmed. The light from the flair was reflecting off the ice crystals in the sky as weather conditions were suitable that night. I hope this was an opportunity for people to learn about some optics and not just listen to the really wrong ideas people proposed in the comment threads. https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2022/03/24/did-you-see-it-mysterious-orange-light-spotted-in-the-sky-over-houston-area-pictures-here/
Kangaroo in Michigan
A kangaroo appeared in a Michigan yard. The surprised resident called 911. The animal, named Douglas, belonged to a local who had a license to keep exotic pets. Douglas was safely returned. These days, you never know what to expect in your neighborhood. https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/lapeer-county-woman-finds-kangaroo-in-her-yard
Tiger tales
Police in Oldham, England responded to a call about a tiger in the grass in a populated area. When they investigated, they found a toy. This is not an uncommon occurrence. I documented a number of these cases on my website in 2020. I’ll have to add this one to the list! The reason people panic before checking out the observation is that the idea of large big cats roaming loose in the UK is a prevalent rumor. While in the past, good evidence of some single animals has been found, this is rare. Typical sightings turn out to be domestic cats or dogs that are misperceived or pranks. Stuffed toys have also been reported as real animals in the US as well. Those who report the sightings are convinced that the object moved and is certainly alive. https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/03/23/police-tiger-lose-stuffed-toy/5211648037296/tiger
Meanwhile, in sad news (that we wish we could edit to make for a relieving political outcome), an Amur tiger at the Minnesota Zoo, named Putin, died of heart failure during a health exam. The tiger was highly valued as breeding stock in the Amur tiger survival plan. Fewer than 500 of these tigers exist in the wild. https://www.postbulletin.com/news/minnesota/minnesota-zoo-putin-the-tiger-dies-after-heart-fails-during-medical-procedure
Did FBI destroy gold?
In 2018, the FBI excavated an area at Dent’s Run, Pennsylvania where treasure hunters say they located a cache of Civil War-era gold. The FBI says they found nothing and that the rumors of lost gold are baseless. The pair of treasure hunters, called Finders Keepers, have petitioned for the federal records on the case. Inconsistencies were found, leading the pair to suggest there is a coverup. They are alleging that the FBI destroyed evidence. It’s just as likely to be poor record-keeping, but when gold fever has hit, rationality melts away. https://www.abc27.com/news/pennsylvania/treasure-hunters-did-fbi-destroy-video-of-civil-war-gold-in-pennsylvania/
Deer trouble in PA
There were two deer stories out of Pennsylvania this week. They seemed to be quite interesting to the rest of the country as I saw them spreading across news outlets. First, a bridge in Johnsonburg, Elk County, PA made the news as 25 deer so far have jumped off the side to their deaths. The deer in this populated area are using the bridge to cross the ravine instead of going underneath it. If they are startled while on the bridge they jump over the barrier, seemingly unaware of the height. Locals have asked the DOT to do something. Finally, this media attention has prompted them to take a look. The headlines suggested that this might have been another “suicide” bridge where animals mysterious die on purpose but the explanation seems clear that it is the terrain and surrounding conditions that fool the deer. https://wjactv.com/news/local/raining-deer-residents-want-action-as-deer-keep-falling-to-their-deaths-in-johnsonburg
The second deer incident was of an unfortunate buck who got his antler enmeshed in netting in Berks County PA. The very stressed animal could not be quickly tranquilized. So the wildlife officer shot the antler off. I’ll admit, this was a crazy plan - it was so crazy that it actually worked. The deer ran off. I wondered why they couldn’t saw it off as is sometimes done when bucks get their antlers entangled. I also wonder whether we would have heard about this at all if the shot had gone awry. But, I’ll take a happy ending any day. https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/wildlife-officer-shoots-whitetail-deer-antler/
Deadly alligator crash
Deer are certainly a hazard in the US for drivers. But alligators are becoming a hazard in Florida. This week we hear of a tragic incident where a man was driving late at night on a country road in Hillsborough County Florida when he collided with a large alligator in the roadway. The car flipped and went into a ditch. He died. The 11-ft long alligator, also dead on the scene, allowed officers to piece together what had happened. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/driver-59-dies-hitting-11-foot-alligator-florida-roadway-deputies-say-rcna21379
Dyatlov avalanche theory further confirmed
The mysterious deaths of hikers in the Russian Ural mountains in 1959 has been a font of weird ideas. The condition of the bodies was such that a cause of death was not readily apparent. Well, they died from exposure for sure, but why did they leave their tent? This story is most famously associated with a Yeti attack, which it most certainly was not, but also with infrasound panic, military exercises, spies, and nuclear tests. A new paper out this week strongly bolsters the explanation that the unfortunate explorers experienced a particular kind of avalanche due to the steep slopes in this area. Researchers returned to the site in 2021 and found evidence that slab avalanches occur here. The event could have been triggered by the campers’ activity. It destroyed their tent and forced them out into the cold where they succumbed and then were partly eaten by scavengers. The remains were found weeks later which was plenty of time to blur the evidence of the avalanche. While the avalanche theory is not new, this publication, freely available here, adequately explains the mechanism of this terrible event. https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7vwg8/the-dyatlov-pass-mystery-may-have-just-been-solved-by-new-video-evidence
Chronic hiccups
A strange case of chronic hiccups was documented in the British Medical Journal Case Reports last week. A “young” man suffered from persistent hiccups for 4 months. No typical causes could be found. A brain scan revealed a tumor that appears to have irritated the nerve that then caused the hiccups. This situation is extremely rare. The person was successfully treated with surgery and radiation. https://gizmodo.com/a-mans-chronic-hiccups-turned-out-to-be-a-brain-tumor-s-1848672097
Stolen bikes found
A man in Oxfordshire, England was arrested after a series of complaints by neighbors resulted in the discovery of about 500 stolen bikes amassed in the yard. The bikes were so obvious that they could be seen via Google maps. The headlines suggest that the perp was found via Google Maps but that does not seem to be the case. The neighbors had regularly complained about the property which was drawing rats. They had noticed the growing pile of bikes for about 5 years but the local council brushed them off. One neighbor said the man had always been unreasonable and “lives in cloud-cuckoo land”. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-60791858
Soldiers took orders via fortune teller
This sounds like the plot of a zany movie that ends badly: two former German soldiers planned to act as mercenaries, paid by Saudi Arabia, in the civil war in Yemen. The plan was hatched via information gleaned from a fortune teller. The men took the information as instructions and attempted to recruit others in the belief they would be paid well. But this was a farce. The Saudis never participated in the scheme. The men were charged in a German court this week. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-702285
A Nigerian version of James Randi
A 24 yr old rationalist is doing his part to spread the word that superstition and magic have no place in Nigerian society. He stood in the marketplace and offered cash to those who could prove “juju” or voodoo magic was real. Nigerians generally have a strong belief in magic that often involves human body parts. This had led to murders for the purpose of witchcraft. People also believe that rituals can make them impervious to weapons or can turn them into animals. The outspoken Gbenga Adewoyin is risking his own well-being by speaking out in public in the strict country. It’s important for people to understand that all sorts of dangerous beliefs are not unusual in many countries around the world. Not even exposure to modern society can remove it. But, as this activist points out, education is a critical first step. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60749496
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As for as the big cat tales in the UK, someone years ago – there is a documentary about it – very sensibly imported a Canadian trapper who made a living tracking and killing animals for fur presumably. He went round all the sites of interest where either animals had been killed and partially eaten or there were tracks. He looked at the tracks, he looked at the scat. He said "dog" – more than once. In fact every site he investigated turned out to be – dog. This didn't in the least phase the guy who'se major hobby was investigating big cat sightings – he just "knew" there was something out there.